April 13
It is also the Ides (middle day) of April. Events *1055 - Victor II is consecrated pope. *1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. *1180 - Frederick Barbarossa issues the Gelnhausen Charter. *1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople. *1250 - The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, Louis IX of France is captured. *1256 - The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae. *1598 - Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. *1742 - George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland. *1829 - The British Parliament grants freedom of religion to Roman Catholics. *1849 - Hungary becomes a republic. *1861 - American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces. *1868 - Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala. *1873 - Colfax Massacre. *1883 - Alferd Packer is convicted of murder. *1902 - James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer. *1919 - The Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. * 1919 - Amritsar massacre: British troops massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India. *1921 - Foundation of the Spanish Communist Workers' Party. *1924 - AEK Athens FC is established in Constantinople. *1939 - In India, the Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in armed struggle against the British. *1941 - Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed. *1943 - World War II: The discovery of a mass grave of Polish prisoners-of-war executed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre was announced in Germany, driving a wedge between the Western Allies, the Polish government-in-exile in London, and the Soviet Union. * 1943 - James Boarman, Fred Hunter, Harold Brest and Floyd G. Hamilton take part in Alcatraz escape attempt. * 1943 - The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth. *1945 - German troops massacre more than 1000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen Germany. The atrocity is discovered two days later by American forces. *1953 - CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind controle program MKULTRA. *1953 - Ian Fleming publishes the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. *1969 - Closure of the Brisbane tramway network. *1970 - An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew into deadly peril. *1972 - The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan. *1974 - Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the USA's first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1. *1975 - An attack by unidentified gunmen on a church in Ain El Remmeneh followed by an attack on a bus that killed 17 Palestinian civilians, Lebanon marks the beginning of a 15 year civil war. *1978 - Timothy Lee Forrest is born in Peoria at 8:19 a.m. *1983 - Harold Washington is elected as the first African-American mayor in Chicago's history. *1984 - India moves into Siachen Glacier thus annexed more territory from the Line of Control. * 1984 - Pete Rose becomes the first player in National League history to collect 4,000 hits. *1985 - Enver Hoxha is succeeded by Ramiz Alia as the leader of Albania. *1987 - Portugal and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to the latter in 1999. *1992 - Neil Kinnock resigns as British Labour leader following the party's defeat by the Conservatives in the general election four days earlier. *1997 - Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win golf's Masters Tournament. *2003 - 21 Students from Makrohori, Imathia Prefecture, Greece are killed when their bus collides with a truck carrying lumber, at the Vale of Tempe. Births *1506 - Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (d. 1546) *1519 - Catherine de' Medici, wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589) *1547 - Elisabeth of Valois, third wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568) *1570 - Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator (d. 1606) *1584 - Albert VI of Bavaria (d. 1666) *1593 - Thomas Wentworth, English statesman (d. 1641) *1618 - Roger de Rabutin, French writer (d. 1693) *1648 - Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717) *1715 - John Hanson, President of the United States in Congress Assembled (d. 1783) *1729 - Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore and magazine editor (d. 1811) *1732 - Frederick North, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792) *1735 - Isaac Low, New York delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1791) *1743 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (New style date) (d. 1826) *1747 - Louis Philip II (d. 1793) *1764 - Laurent, French marshal (d. 1830) *1769 - Thomas Lawrence, English painter (d. 1830) *1771 - Richard Trevithick, English engineer and inventor (d. 1833) *1780 - Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer (d. 1868) *1784 - Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877) *1787 - John Robertson, U.S. congressman (d. 1873) *1802 - Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist (d. 1884) *1808 - Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (d. 1896) *1825 - Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868) *1828 - Joseph Barber Lightfoot, English theologian and Bishop of Durham (d. 1889) *1832 - Juan Montalvo, Ecuadoran author (d. 1889) *1841 - Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor (d. 1905) *1850 - Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, British astronomer (d. 1917) *1851 - Robert Abbe, American surgeon (d. 1928) *1852 - F.W. Woolworth, American businessman (d. 1919) *1860 - James Ensor, Belgian painter (d. 1949) *1866 - Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1908) *1872 - Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer (d. 1945) *1873 - John W. Davis, American politician (d. 1955) *1875 - Ray Lyman Wilbur, President of Stanford University and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949) *1879 - Edward Bruce, Director of the New Deal art projects during the Great Depression (d. 1943) *1880 - Charles Christie, Canadian film studio owner (d. 1955) *1885 - Georg Lukács, Hungarian-born philosopher and literary critic (d. 1971) * 1885 - Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964) *1887 - Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and President of the Canadian Medical Association (d. 1995) *1889 - Herbert Osborne Yardley, American cryptographer (d. 1958) *1890 - Frank Murphy, American public servant (d. 1949) *1891 - Maurice Vincent Buckley, Australian winner of the Victoria Cross (d. 1921) * 1891 - Nella Larsen, African-American novelist (d. 1964) *1892 - Arthur Travers 'Bomber' Harris, British Air Force commander in World War II (d. 1984) * 1892 - Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1973) *1894 - Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973) *1897 - Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (d. 1917) *1899 - Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and inventor of the Scrabble (d. 1993) *1900 - Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976) *1901 - Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist (d. 1981) *1902 - Philippe de Rothschild, French race car driver and wine grower (d. 1988) *1904 - Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur (d. 1987) *1906 - Samuel Beckett, Irish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1989) * 1906 - Bud Freeman, American jazz musician (d. 1991) *1907 - Harold Stassen, American Presidential candidate (d. 2001) *1909 - Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, Polish mathematician (d. 1984) * 1909 - Eudora Welty, American writer (d. 2001) *1911 - Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer (d. 1946) * 1911 - Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian entrepreneur, racehorse owner and philanthropist (d. 1994) *1916 - Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner, American actress, journalist, and children's book publisher (d. 2006) *1919 - Roland Gaucher, French journalist * 1919 - Howard Keel, American actor, singer, and president of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2004) * 1919 - Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American atheist activist (d. 1995) * 1919 - Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer (d. 2000) *1920 - Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982) * 1920 - Claude Cheysson, French politician * 1920 - Liam Cosgrave, fifth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland * 1920 - John LaPorta, American musician (d. 2004) *1922 - John Braine, British novelist (d. 1986) * 1922 - Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician (d. 1999) *1923 - Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005) *1924 - Jack Chick, American evangelist * 1924 - Stanley Donen, American film director *1926 - John Spencer-Churchill * 1926 - Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress *1927 - Maurice Ronet, French film actor (d. 1983) *1928 - Alan Clark, English politician (d. 1999) *1931 - Robert Enrico, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2001) * 1931 - Dan Gurney, American race car driver * 1931 - Jon Stone, co-creator of Sesame Street (d. 1997) *1932 - Orlando Letelier, Chilean politician (d. 1976) *1933 - Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. Senator *1935 - Lyle Waggoner, American actor *1937 - Edward Fox, English actor * 1937 - Lanford Wilson, American playwright *1939 - Seamus Heaney, Irish writer, Nobel laureate * 1939 - Paul Sorvino, American actor *1940 - Mike Beuttler, British racing driver (d. 1988) * 1940 - Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006) *1941 - Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist, Nobel laureate *1942 - Bill Conti, American composer *1943 - Billy Kidd, American alpine skier *1944 - Jack Casady, American musician (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) * 1944 - Susan Davis, American politician * 1944 - Brian Pendleton, musician, The Pretty Things (d. 2001) *1945 - Tony Dow, American actor * 1945 - Lowell George, American country/rock singer/guitarist (Little Feat) (d. 1979) * 1945 - Bob Kalsu, American football player (d. 1970) * 1945 - Judy Nunn, Australian actress * 1945 - Charles Robinson, American actor *1946 - Al Green, American singer and pastor *1947 - Thanos Mikroutsikos, Greek composer & former minister *1948 - Sue Doughty, British politician * 1948 - Nam Hae-il, Chief of Naval Operations of Republic of Korea Navy *1949 - Frank Doran, Scottish politician * 1949 - Christopher Hitchens, English-born journalist, critic, and author * 1949 - Ricardo Zuniño, Argentine racing driver *1950 - Terry Lester, American actor (d. 2003) * 1950 - Ron Perlman, American actor * 1950 - William Sadler, American actor *1951 - Peabo Bryson, American singer * 1951 - Peter Davison, English actor * 1951 - Joachim Streich, East German footballer * 1951 - Max Weinberg, American drummer *1952 - Ron Dittemore, American space administrator * 1952 - David Drew, British politician * 1952 - Erick Avari, British-Indian actor *1953 - Stephen Byers, British politician *1954 - Niels Olsen, Danish singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner *1955 - Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg * 1955 - Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer *1956 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, New Zealand rally driver (d. 2003) * 1956 - Alison Wheeler, British activist *1957 - Saundra Santiago, American actress * 1957 - Dallas Moir, Scottish cricketer *1960 - Rudi Völler, German football coach * 1960 - Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist *1961 - Hiro Yamamoto, American rock bassist (Soundgarden, Truly) *1962 - Dave Miley, former baseball player and manager * 1962 - Hillel Slovak, Israeli-born guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (d. 1988) * 1962 - Jennifer Rubin, American actress *1963 - Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player *1964 - Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress *1965 - Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinean architect *1966 - Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian football player * 1966 - Marc Ford, American musician (The Black Crowes) *1967 - Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican singer *1970 - Monty Brown, American professional wrestler * 1970 - Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer * 1970 - Rick Schroder, American actor *1971 - Dina Korzun, Russian actress * 1971 - Bo Outlaw, American basketball player * 1971 - Valensia, Dutch singer *1972 - Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player * 1972 - Aaron Lewis, American singer (Staind) *1974 - Darren Turner , British Race Driver * 1974 - Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player * 1974 - David Zdrilić, Australian soccer player *1975 - Lou Bega, German-born musician and artist * 1975 - Bruce Dyer, English footballer *1976 - Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003) * 1976 - Patrik Eliáš, Czech ice hockey player * 1976 - Yu Ji-tae, South Korean actor *1978 - Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player * 1978 - Kyle Howard, American actor * 1978 - Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer * 1978 - Chris Sligh, American Idol finalist *1979 - Baron Davis, American basketball player * 1979 - Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player *1980 - Jana Cova, Czech pornographic actress * 1980 - Quentin Richardson, American basketball player * 1980 - Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress *1982 - Nellie McKay, American singer * 1982 - Janice Vidal, Hong Kong singer * 1982 - Jill Vidal, Hong Kong singer *1983 - Schalk Burger, South African rugby player *1987 - Brandon Hardesty, American internet entertainer *1988 - Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira, Brazilian footballer *1992 - Emma Degerstedt, American actress Deaths * 799 - Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and chronicler * 814 - Krum, Khan of Bulgaria *1093 - Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030) *1279 - Boleslaus the Pious, Polish duke *1605 - Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia *1635 - Fahkr-al-Din II, Druze Prince of Lebanon (executed) *1638 - Henri, French Huguenot leader (b. 1579) *1641 - Richard Montagu, English clergyman (b. 1577) *1695 - Jean de la Fontaine, French author (b. 1621) *1722 - Charles Leslie, Irish Anglican theologian (b. 1650) *1793 - Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French revolutionary (b. 1763) *1794 - Nicolas Chamfort, French writer (b. 1741) *1826 - Franz Danzi, German composer (b. 1763) *1853 - Leopold Gmelin, German chemist (b. 1788) * 1853 - James Iredell, Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788) *1855 - Henry De la Beche, English geologist (b. 1796) *1868 - Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1818) *1880 - Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist (b. 1813) *1882 - Bruno Bauer, German theologian (b. 1809) *1890 - Samuel J. Randall, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828) *1909 - Whitley Stokes, British lawyer (b. 1830) *1910 - William Quiller Orchardson, British painter (b. 1835) *1911 - George Washington Glick, Governor of Kansas (b. 1827) * 1911 - John McLane, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852) *1912 - Ishikawa Takuboku, Japanese author (b. 1886) *1918 - Lavr Georgevich Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870) *1936 - Milton Brown, American swing bandleader (b. 1903) *1938 - Grey Owl, proponent of nature conservation (b. 1888) *1941 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863) *1944 - Cécile Chaminade, French composer and pianist (b. 1857) *1945 - Ernst Cassirer, German philosopher (b. 1874) *1954 - Angus Lewis Macdonald, Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890) *1959 - Eduard van Beinum, Dutch conductor (b. 1901) *1962 - Culbert Olson, Governor of California (b. 1876) *1966 - Abdul Salam Arif, President of Iraq (b. 1921) * 1966 - Georges Duhamel, French writer (b. 1884) *1971 - Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949) * 1971 - Juhan Smuul, Estonian author (b. 1921) *1975 - Larry Parks, American actor (b. 1914) * 1975 - François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye, first President of Chad (b. 1918) *1978 - Jack Chambers, Canadian artist and film maker (b. 1931) *1980 - Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956) *1981 - Prince Asaka Yasuhiko of Japan (b. 1887) *1983 - Theodore Stephanides, Greek poet, author, doctor and naturalist (b. 1896) *1984 - Richard Hurndall. British actor (b. 1910) * 1984 - Ralph Kirkpatrick, American musician (b. 1911) *1986 - Stephen Stucker. American actor (b. 1947) *1993 - Wallace Stegner, American writer (car accident) (b. 1909) *1997 - Dorothy Frooks, American author, publisher, military figure, and actress (b. 1896) * 1997 - Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler, Olympic medalist (b. 1903) *1998 - Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and skysurfing pioneer (b. 1960) *1999 - Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player "Mr NZ Chess" (b. 1924) * 1999 - Willi Stoph, German politician (b. 1914) *2000 - Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (b. 1916) *2001 - Robert Moon, Postal Inspector and "Father" of the ZIP Code (b. 1917) *2002 - Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver (b. 1928) *2004 - Lou Berberet, baseball player (b. 1929) * 2004 - Caron Keating, British television presenter (b. 1962) *2005 - Don Blasingame, baseball player (b. 1932) * 2005 - Johnnie Johnson, American blues musician (b. 1924) * 2005 - Johnny Loughrey, Irish singer (b. 1945) *2006 - Bill Baker, baseball player (b. 1911) *2007 - Don Selwyn, Māori actor and film director (b. circa 1936) Holidays and observances * First day of Thai New Year. * First day of Cambodian New Year. * Vaisakhi * Aerosmith Day is celebrated in Massachusetts *Friday the 13th is observed on this day in the year 2007 Liturgical feasts * The Feast Day of St. Martin the Confessor in the Greek Orthodox Church. In the Catholic Church: *Saint Martinus I *Saint Hermenegild *Caradoc *Carpus *Edward Catheriek *Saint Guinoc *James of Certaldo (Jacopo Guidi) *Blessed John Lockwood *Martius *Maximus *Blessed Ursus of Ravenna *Blessed Ida of Boulogne *Blessed Ida of Louvain External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April